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Dueling Volcanoes and Fire Power in Tongariro National Park
What I imagined I would see when I reached Tongariro National Park was a battle ground: Open horizons. Scars of black rock, like charred ground. Rubble. Dry, choking air. A barren place. Hard. Void. Dark... Blame Mordor, I guess.
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1 Year of New Zealand Selfies: January & February
Happy 2024 from New Zealand! For the beginning of the year, I visited volcanoes, dropped back down to the South Island, and went on two epic adventures! Then, my parents and my aunt and uncle arrived for almost three weeks of fun!
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A Backpacker’s Life, Introvert Style
How, you might wonder, does someone who loves spending weeks at home just reading and writing, deal with the constant change of location? How does an introverted, large-group adverse, anti-heavy-drinking, control-loving, homebody juggle her dichotomous desire to cheaply travel and explore the rest of the world? I'm here to give you the answer: small routines and big organization skills.
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Photos from New Zealand Christmas and New Year
My expectations of a Kiwi Christmas were, in no particular order: BBQ, beach, summer fun, games, big gatherings, and tables shuddering with the amount of delicious food. These expectations, I believe, could have been met by many families (as I've heard stories of recounted holidays from many Kiwi's on my journeys), but the couple I stayed with did things quite differently.
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Crashing through the Catlins + Cool Coastlines
Actually, I drove incredibly carefully through the Catlins--which is how I usually drive. However, since I had a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time, it did feel a bit like careening wildly through the region. Thankfully, I had driven out to see a few sites at the edge of the Catlins area when I'd been staying in Bluff, so I could check two places off the list. But there were still seven stops I had to make in a single day, and at least six hours of driving between me and my next hostel! So buckle up, cause you're gonna crash and careen through this…
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Stewart Island: The Island of the Birds
Throughout my wanderings, multiple travelers have told me that Stewart Island was one of their favorite places in New Zealand. Stewart Island is at the bottom of the South Island. I'd loosely been planning on visiting the island (because I'd been to the farthest northern point, may as well try to get to the southern point!) before I heard these rave reviews. So, as I kept hearing about how awesome Stewart Island was, I knew I really had to make the effort.
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The Sound of Silence: A Little Luxury and a Lot of Peace in Doubtful Sound
As we set sail on the 42 kilometer sound, one of the bigger ones in Fiordland, I nose my way around the ship, claiming my bunk and finding the best view points. Over a snack, we get some Fiordland history that answers some of my burning questions. First, what is a sound and what is a fiord?
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Rainy Routeburn: My First Great Walk
To be perfectly honest, I was not feeling all that excited the night before I was set to do the Routeburn Track. Because of the popularity of these Great Walks, you generally have to book your huts far in advance, which means you have no idea what the weather is going to do. When I checked in with the DOC office the day before my big hike, the ranger told me to expect rain all day on Day 1 and to wake up to snow on Day 2.
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A Week in Wanaka Getting High
Wanaka is a town in the Otago region of the South Island. Not far from Queenstown, it's located on the shores of Lake Wanaka. And Lake Wanaka is a ginormous and stunning blue lake that fills an old glacial valley. That means there is plenty of room to spread out on the flat valley floor and that the lake edge consists of steep, rocky mountains. It's a great combination from any angle. But Wanaka's best angle is definitely from above.
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Arthur’s Pass: My Favorite Alpine Region of New Zealand
You know a valley is glacially carved because it is U shaped: a wide, flat bottom and steep sides. The narrow Arthur's Pass Valley is a glacially carved valley, though not as wide and flat as many other glacial valleys in NZ. But the second feature--the steep sides--is very much present.
